REVIEWS: BERNARDA ALBA & THE PAJAMA GAME (added), RUDE fans- Page 2

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 12:52pm

whats the deal with student tickets for Alba? how much are they? I want to see Daphne so badly...

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 7:40pm

Audiences are laughing for two reasons. Some performances are so poorly delivered and so out of place that laughter is one of the most logical responses. Some people are just not prepared for the flamenco style singing, dancing, and overall style that encompasses the night and I suppose some of that could catch someone off guard and cause them to laugh.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 8:01pm

I saw it today and me and Broadwaygirl107 were honestly the only 2 under 20. The audience I thought would be obnoxious or rude. However, they all sat silent and intently, immersed in what was going on with the story. Coming out, I heard most saying how they loved it, most of them saying that the people they know who saw it hated it and some mentioned how they "didn't agree with the Times".
Since we had such a good audience in an intimate setting, we were able to focus on everything and although the story didn't provide much flow, the music certainly did and the performances were moving. I agree from what reviews I did read about Daphne, she stole the show for me, Sally Murphy, and Nikki.
I didn't think Phylicia was miscast, but certainly had her moments that her voice was not in character lol. Especially reprimanding the girls in one scene it was like something out of Caroline or Change talking to Emmie. Otherwise, I enjoyed the show a lot for the mostpart

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 8:32pm

I agree that the music did provide flow. My audience was very well behaved too. There was no standing ovation and the only comment I heard after the show was that "Phylis Rashad (yes Phylis) was better on the Cosby Show".

Looking back on it I think one of my biggest beefs with the show was that the actors weren't microphoned. It may have helped things.

I loved some of the music though.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 8:36pm

Ugh. They don't have to be mic'd.

The biggest problem with the show is the cast.

They are good, and prove so in Act 2. But together, they don't quite mesh. I suppose that's sort of the point. But it makes it difficult to watch as it ruins the theatricality of it.

I think this is one of my favorite LaChiusa scores. I'd even put it with Marie Christine.

[mint0621]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 8:55pm

EverythingisRent, Lincoln Center has student tickets available i think, 1.5 hours before the show (or 2 hours before, I don't remember) I believe they are $30 (and definitely worth the price). The box office makes it sound like it's all sold out, but there were plenty of seats when I went, last Friday. Good luck! It was definitely worth it to see Daphne on stage, and the production is amazing. I even met Daphne at the stage door; she was so nice.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:18pm

Actually I definitely saw some with mics. I know for a fact Rubin-Vega did, her tape was loose on one side of the wire and was hanging loosely at the back of her neck.
And as for the characters not connecting together, it makes sense, more than half of them are fighting for the same guy and when locked away in the house, tensions are supposed to be high and for them to get along would make less sense

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:20pm

Well, I know. That's why I said, for the theatricality of the piece.

I mean, characters canNOT get along...but for the sake of being a piece of theatre, the overal product should come together.

If that makes sense.

It seemed that they were all in their own little world, but those worlds didn't quite add up to Bernarda Alba's house.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:24pm

quite true. almost like they werent sisters

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:25pm

Yeah, like individually they were their characters.

But the chemistry didn't make them a (disjointed) family.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:31pm

Yeah I can't place why that one is, I just seem to have a problem with this show that I still can't figure out but something bugged me a lot about the show that wasn't right. I liked it a lot overall. But it had flaws I can't place that would make me feel this way

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 9:56pm

I think the major flaw is the fact that the show is set up in such a way that each character is developed as so individual (giving each sister an isolated song to describe themself). While I love the solos, and the development of the character it makes it so that I don't care about the family and the daughters as a whole. The show almost made you take sides. Were u with Matirio? Adela? Did you take an outsiders stance with Poncia? Did you sympathize with Bernarda (as this production allowed you to)? This is a problem because it makes you care less of what happens to the family when the internal strife happens, specifically the daughters. At least I experienced this problem. I never felt that there was ever a point where the show made it clear who the good guy was because the bad guy wasn't bad enough. While I enjoy the choice of Bernarda being emotionally vulnerable at times, the lack of fierceness when called for was a horrible hindrance to the overall product.

If the viewer sides with Poncia. They are essentially detached from the beef of the piece. That is a major problem. If the audience sides with Bernarda, the villian becomes the hero which is clearly a negative. If the viewer sides with Matirio, the end is much less affective. If the viewer sides with Angustius the plot is lost on them. It seems to me like a lose lose situation. Maybe someone has another thought?

Also, I felt Candy Buckley required amplification. At my show her voice wasn't it's strongest and several of her important prologue lyrics were missed. It's laughable because it directly followed the "please turn off your hearing aid" announcement.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:00pm

I know Candy recently missed a show. She is great, and has a lot to do.

The original play is structured much like the musical. Act 2 develops each charcter (although it is through dialogue).

Even Poncia's dialogue about smashing her husband's birds is right out of Lorca's play.

Like I've been saying, to give Bernarda some likeable feautres requires the actor to be that much MORe terrorizing during the scene with her daughters.

I mean, this whole concept is based around Bernarda being a tyrant.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:06pm

I agree she could have been worse, but some of the things she said were able to outweigh any sympathy I had for her and how she got there.
What were the exact last words she had in the show? I know the final one was "silence", but before that she kept repeating something? If anyone could PM me that would be great
And my only understudy was for Laura Shoop as the young servant. I couldn't even differentiate between the two servant women, so I don't know which I missed

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:14pm

Laura Shoop also played the role of "Pepe" and sang (quite well!) "Love, Let Me Sing You" - I love that song! It's so beautiful!

Anyway, Bernarda kept saying:

My daughter died a virgin
And you will keep your silence
Silence
Silence

Silence


Updated On: 3/19/06 at 10:14 PM

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:27pm

Curious to find out others' favorite numbers of the show. My two would be Poncia's 30 Odd Years, and the song during which all 5 of the solos converged perfectly into one beautiful song. Anyone know which that is?

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:29pm

SPOILERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

That ending just caught me off guard. I knew that once the grandmother tossed the chair down after Adela ran into her room, I knew what happened, but wow what an emotionally draining way to end the show. I just sat there and could not believe it, what an ending! The start and finish was just unbelievable, those sequences and the girls' 5 solo songs were my favorite parts.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:31pm

Thirty Odd Years, defintitely.

I don't think the song has an actual end. They end up singin Magdalena's song "My pains mother..."

But they all sing together for "I WILL DREAM OF WHAT I SAW"

I LOVE "Angustias" (I can't hear him in my heart").
The Smallest Stream and Prayer are great.

Gah, I love all the songs. I wish they were longer!

[Horton]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:39pm

It's too bad you didnt see Jen Cody, she is such a sene steeler.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:40pm

I know I was sad!

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:42pm

I loved Angustias too. Great song. It felt that Santiago strained a little bit but other than that the music was fantastic. I loved all of the solo's but I wish they were longer. I almost feel that some of them didn't even break a minute.

Also, everytime Rashad sang "WHORE" I was drawn further and further into the show. So effective.

I totally agree about the ending. I was in total disbelief even though I knew what happened well before it was made obvious. You could feel the disbelief in the audience as well. The delayed applause after the black out made it quite clear.

I can not wait for this recording, already. I just hope that it captures as much music as possible.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:46pm

Yeah. I read the play before, so I knew. But it was done well...though held out too long.

I have Rashad's whore from "Limbrada's daughter" in my mind. Whore-ah!

And then the daughters joining in.

With Adela alone.

One thing I missed, and this was my own interpretation:

In the play doing Limbrada's scene, I think, Lorca writes as a direction that Adela grabs her stomach. So I always though Adela was pregnant...and seeing what happened to limbrada sort of fuels the fire and pushes her to the end.

But she never grabbed her stomach. Oh well!


I hate that LaCHiusa's songs are always so short...because I love them - and his actor's are usually so talented.
Like "TELL ME" from MC. Updated On: 3/19/06 at 10:46 PM

[C is for Company]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:50pm

I wish Sally Murphy had more material to work with, her voice is gorgeous and she always seems screwed out of LaChiusa shows lol. She always gets like one song and it always stands out, like "After Midnight Dies". She looked great too. In fact, they all looked great I love the dresses and wigs, they added a lot to the feel and the black dresses brought more dreariness to an already bleak atmosphere.
And the flamenco additions were just fantastic. I left the chest pats and the occasional scraping of a shoe or stomp during a song. It was truly a unique experience. I wish it could get more exposure

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:52pm

Limbrada's Daughter made me wonder if she was pregnant. I agree that it would have helped push her over the edge. Then later I felt that she had to have been a virgin because her sex scene was such a big deal and obviously the final lines in the show.

I felt like a terrible person when I agreed with Bernarda and her daughters in that the whore should burn and learn her lesson. I feel like even more of a horrible person being able to admit it.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 10:52pm

I know.

Sometimes Brantley deserves to be slapped.

The lady next to me thought he was crazy for giving the show a bad review.

I was talking to someone (that's right. I called you a "someone." - you know who you are!)

We thought S. Epatha Merkerson (from L&O) would have been a great Bernarda. What do you all think?